Chant West reveals the extent of superannuation savings slump triggered by Trump tariffs

Australia’s superannuation savings, already hit by the Trump tariff regime, likely lost another 2pc thanks to the US ‘Liberation Day’ imposts, says Chant West.

Super savings have been inadvertently punished by the US imposition of import tariffs.

Australian retirees have been dealt a 1.9 per cent superannuation slump and research house Chant West says Donald Trump’s so-called “Liberation Day” tariffs have likely wiped a further 2 per cent off returns.

In the first read through of the wild sharemarket swings from the US President’s decisions, Chant West said retirees with the median super fund were still 5.5 per cent up over the nine months of the 2024 financial year.

Chant West calculates its performance around the median fund which has between 61 and 80 per cent of its holdings in growth assets.

But Chant West said the April rollercoaster effect from the tariff announcements under which markets plunged and then rebound, could worsen under more swings in the coming weeks.

Chant West senior investment research manager Mano Mohankumar said retirees should maintain a long-term view of markets.

He said that for many superannuation savers their investment horizons were “longer than they may think it is”.

“While we appreciate that members all have different tolerance levels for seeing their account balance going backwards, the majority can afford to remain patient – even many older members,” Mr Mohankumar said.

“A lot of Australians don’t take out all of their super as a lump sum at retirement, so a substantial amount is likely to remain in the super system in the pension phase, often for many years.”

The immediate effect of US economic policy on Australian shares will filter down to superannuation savings. Picture: Getty Images

Chant West data shows the returns for superannuation savers with an all-growth allocation would have been worse than those who have a median holding – dropping 3.3 per cent over March.

Those with a balanced or conservative account holding, with far less allocation to growth assets, would also have experienced a drop over March.

“When markets fall sharply, there is a tendency for some people to think about moving to lower-risk options or cash with a view to moving back later, either out of fear or as an attempt to time the market,” Mr Mohankumar said.

“But far more often than not, that strategy results in a worse long-term outcome than if you stay the course.”

Chant West’s Mano Mohankumar.

He said moving to cash in the wake of a market drop risked both crystallising a loss and missing all of the subsequent rebound.

The average median superannuation growth fund has delivered an 8 per cent return on average since the introduction of compulsory super in 1992.

Mr Mohankumar said funds with a diversified holding had a safer March return.

“The median growth fund’s loss was limited to 1.9 per cent, benefiting from diversification across a wide range of growth and defensive asset classes including alternative and unlisted assets,” he said.

“At the same time, growth funds still have about 55 per cent invested in listed shares on average, and are able to capture a meaningful proportion of the upside when those markets rebound.”

Morgan Stanley equity strategist Chris Nicol said Australian markets were emerging as a resilient investment opportunity.

The US has placed new tariffs on friend and foe but reserved the heaviest impost on Chinese imports. Picture: AFP

But he said the broader ASX was likely to have a lower return over the year, slashing expectations for the performance of the ASX 200 from 8500 to 8000 over the year.

Mr Nicol did not expect the ASX to approach the 8500 level until mid-2026.

Fitch Ratings on Wednesday said that global growth would be sharply lower in the wake of Mr Trump’s tariff announcements, and that the US economy would “slow to a crawl” in the year ahead.

China and European economic growth was expected to tumble as US tariffs reach their highest point since 1909.

Originally published as Chant West reveals the extent of superannuation savings slump triggered by Trump tariffs